Jewelry cleaning unit

ABSTRACT

A unit designed to clean fine jewelry and gemstones in the dishwasher. The unit is manufactured out of a material like plastic to prevent scratching of any metal placed in the unit, to impede tarnishing, and to prevent chipping of any large stones. The unit has holes throughout to allow water to enter the hollow area of the unit and then allowing the water to drain out. The unit has a ring on the top with an opening large enough for a zip tie or other means to attach the unit inside the dishwasher. The unit is threaded around the midway section to allow the unit to twist open, and then closed. The unit is comprised out of a material that can withstand the high temperatures in the dishwasher. The bottom of the unit is concave with grooves that allow the user to attach a rubber band for added security if the user so chooses.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to jewelry cleaners that are designed to allow the consumer to clean their fine jewelry at home. These jewelry cleaning units are configured to clean rings, earrings, bracelets, chains, charms, and loose gemstones in the dishwasher. Although there are other home cleaning devices on the market, the jewelry cleaning units described in this patent application are much safer and have better results. Classes/Subclasses; 134/200, 134/25.4, 201, 198, 84, 29.

2. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Over the years purchasing fine jewelry has become affordable for most people. However, a design that allows the consumer to clean their jewelry at home with outstanding results has never been attained. There are currently a few methods for cleaning fine jewelry at home. These methods involve sonic cleaners, placing jewelry in a plastic container with a liquid solution inside, or placing the jewelry in a stainless steel orb that has a handle that is squeezed to open and close the orb, pre-treating jewelry in a special chemical, and then placing entire orb in the dishwasher. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,876,513; 6,624,133B; 6,719,850; U.S. Pat. No. D482,165S; U.S. Pat. No. D481,77S. The obvious problem with many of the previous designs is that they either call for special chemicals to be used, or the purchase of a sonic cleaner. One of the methods for cleaning jewelry at home involves an orb shaped apparatus that is made out of stainless steel. There are a couple of problems with this method for cleaning fine jewelry. First, since the unit is made out of stainless steel the jewelry enclosed will be prone to hit against the metal thus causing the enclosed gold, platinum or sterling silver piece to nick or scratch. Additionally, if the piece enclosed hits against the rim of the apparatus, chipping can occur in the stones. Second, this particular method of cleaning jewelry or small items instructs the user to allow the items to be cleaned to soak in the solution that comes packaged with the apparatus before placing inside the orb. After the jewelry soaks for the directed time, it is then time to place the unit in the dishwasher and run the cycles as one normally would. Having been in the jewelry industry for 35 years I have learned that some metals interact in a bad way with other metal. I have seen gold and silver turn black when coming in contact with stainless steel for a long period of time. This tarnishing of the metal can be removed but only by buffing. Therefore, I would not suggest placing fine jewelry in a stainless steel container.

The next method for cleaning fine jewelry at home involves using a sonic cleaner. Even though most jewelry repair shops use an ultrasonic to clean jewelry before and after repairing, they are not like the personal ultrasonic that consumers use. The ultrasonic that is used in the repair shop has an element that heats the solution in the container. This is a major part of the process of cleaning the jewelry. The heated solution allows the caked on dirt to loosen up before being scrubbed by hand or steam cleaned.

3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

I have been in the jewelry industry for 35 years and have found that using a dishwashing detergent works just as well as any jewelry cleaning chemical that is on the market. Some gemstone suppliers even suggest cleaning stones with dishwashing detergent because the detergent is so gentle. The jewelry cleaning unit that I have designed differs from all the other methods on the market in that no special cleaning chemicals are needed. There is no pre-soaking, the unit won't scratch the metals enclosed or chip any stones, since the unit is not made out of stainless steel the enclosed precious metals won't tarnish. The holes in the unit are graduated from large to small to allow any stones that may become dislodged during cleaning to safely settle in the bottom of the unit. Each unit will come packaged with zip ties allowing the consumer to attach the unit to the top rack of the dishwasher so that plenty of water can run through. Also, a small brush will be enclosed to allow the consumer to safely brush away any small particles that were not completely removed during the cleaning process. Rubber bands will also come packaged with the unit so the consumer can further secure the two halves of the units together. However, these are not really necessary because the threads where the two halves of the unit attach together are secure enough on their own. But, it will alleviate any fears that the consumer may have regarding the security of the unit.

4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the jewelry cleaning unit in the closed position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the top half of the cleaning unit in the open position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bottom half of the cleaning unit in the open position;

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is the bottom view of the unit.

5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Referring to the drawings, in FIG. 1 the jewelry cleaning unit is shown with both halves secured together and the unit is assembled. There is shown a ring 4 at the top of the unit with an opening 2. This is to allow a zip tie or any other attachment to run through the opening and attach to the interior of the dishwasher. FIG. 1 also shows the holes 6 that allow for the water to enter and drain from the unit.

FIG. 2 shows the top half of the unit in the unassembled position. The interior of the top half is hollow 8 and has threads inside 10 at the midway area around the bottom of the top half.

FIG. 3 shows the bottom half of the unit in the unassembled position. The interior of the bottom half is hollow 14 and has threads running around the exterior of the top portion.

FIG. 4 shows the top half of the unit from the side position.

FIG. 5 shows the side view and threads 16 of the bottom half of the unit.

FIG. 6 shows the unit from the bottom. Holes 18 can be seen in the bottom half of the unit. The very bottom of the unit is concave 20 with four grooved areas 20, 22, 24, 26, that allow a rubber band to be secured for added security if the user would prefer. The grooves may not be present all designs. 

1. An individual jewelry cleaning unit (a) a top portion: (b) a bottom portion that secures to the top portion; and (c) the unit has holes throughout to allow water to easily enter and drain; and (d) the interior of the jewelry cleaning unit is hollow
 2. The unit in claim 1 wherein said bottom portion is secured to said top portion by threads. 3.) The jewelry cleaning unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cleaning unit has a ring on the top with an opening. 4.) The jewelry cleaning unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the opening is large enough to allow a device such as a zip tie to fit through to attach the cleaning unit inside the dishwasher. 5.) The jewelry cleaning unit is comprised of a material that can withstand the temperatures inside the dishwasher. 6.) The bottom of the jewelry cleaning unit is concave with recessed grooved areas to allow the user to attach a rubber band or any other type of “0” ring to further secure the two halves of the claimed unit. 7.) The jewelry cleaning unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the jewelry cleaning unit is oval, but may be any geometric shape. 8.) The jewelry cleaning unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the holes graduate in size from large in the top half to smaller in the bottom half. 